21 minute read
SUSTAINING LOCAL FARMS
By Lori Steere Now, More than Ever
Thinking spring suddenly holds much more weight than fresh air, strong doses of sunshine, happy bursts of color from a smudge of purple crocus or a cluster of vibrant daffodils. Who would have imagined setting our clocks ahead this year would mean “springing forward” to drastic changes in our daily lives—some by choice, some because of government mandates—all to try to prevent the spread of a virus?
On the positive side, many of us are suddenly blessed with plenty of time to clean up around the house and get the yard ready for serious outdoor enjoyment: gardens, fires, kids playing, and soaking up warm rays of vitamin D. However, many of us have become tem- porarily unemployed; holed up at home when we need to be at work, wishing we could spend this time gathered with friends over a meal, wanting to be out and about participating in our favorite local events. Instead, we are finding businesses closed, races cancelled, shelves emptied at the grocery store. We worry when somebody coughs and are off-kilter at times with the general displacement of our familiar lives.
In this time of struggle and uncertainty for so many of us, I can’t help but think about food. It has been a little more stress- ful to get out and simply acquire the ingredients to make a nutri- tious meal. Dear friends, in this plentiful Mt. Washington Valley, with so many farms and farm stands, farmers markets, and neighbors with chickens, one solution seems crystal clear.
Now, more than ever, this is the time to sup- port our local farms. Through shopping at farmers markets and local food hubs, you can avoid crowds while feeling certain your food has been handled safely, and with care. No need to worry how far your food has travelled, how many hands it has passed through, or if the shelves will be stocked when you head out for groceries.
Our local farmers are stepping up and adapting to the changing food climate, offering safe and clean alternative methods for you to obtain healthy food. Buy- ing directly from the farmers themselves, you can ask them questions to put your mind at ease, while helping to boost our struggling local economy. Today, that means so much more than
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it ever has! If you have a favorite farm, check their website (see our listing within these pages) to see what they have come up with to accommodate the changing times. You can put your faith in our community growers to provide the nourishment your family needs to stay healthy.
Now, more than ever, these are the people we can depend on to continue to come through for us with safe, reliable sources of food. Our farmers are our neighbors, and they need our support.
Remember to include your trusted neighbors down the road selling their eggs or garden surplus. This time of year, many winter farmers’ markets are taking a break until May, but you can still purchase meats, eggs, bread, dairy products, maple syrup, honey, and early-season produce, such as spinach, root veggies, asparagus, and greens, directly from the farms!
As I sit here writing this, I know most folks are planning on keeping their farm stores open—embracing new policies in favor of social distancing. Handfuls of creative solutions have been born of this challenge! Many farms and market vendors are now asking that you preorder online and pick up at their store or the farmers’ market. A few local farms are getting creative with readily assembled meat packages intended to last a month or so, curbside pickup; some more laid back, with a “pull-up-and-honk-yourhorn” shopping method.
Pre-packaged vegetables with streamlined pricing to skip the picking through and weighing process. All are intended to limit the handling of merchandise. Investing in the growing season is also an option—you can order your summer CSA full or half share right now, buy market shares, and order gift cards. I have recently placed my CSA order, and I must confess, I am feeling more at ease knowing I will have an abundance of seasonal organic produce coming to me weekly throughout this summer and into fall—direct from the hands of a local farmer!
One notable farmer’s market effort is being made by the New Hampshire Mushroom Company in Tamworth. In an effort
A New Day Farm Conway, NH Abundant Blessings* Brookfield, NH Athena’s Bees Ossipee, NH Behr Farm Tamworth, NH Berry Knoll Eaton, NH Bly Farm Wolfeboro, NH Densmore Orchard* Conway, NH DeVylder Farm* Wolfeboro, NH Drake Farm Effingham, NH Earle Family Farm Conway, NH Fly Away Farm Stowe, ME Full Moon Farm Wolfeboro, NH Good Buddy Farm & Flower* Hiram, ME Grand View Farm* Conway, NH Hatches’ Orchard Conway, NH Highwater Farm Bartlett, NH Hosac Farm Cornish, ME Little Field Farm* Eaton, NH Loon’s Point Honey Bees* Madison, NH Meadowfall Farm & Forage Porter, ME Merrybrook Farm Tamworth, NH MiVida Gardens Madison, NH Moonset Farm & Floral* Porter, ME Mountain Flower Farm Intervale, NH Mountain Heartbeet Farm* Effingham, NH Mountain Laurel Farm Sanbornville, NH Naylen Farm No. Conway, NH NH Mushroom Company* Tamworth, NH Patch Farm Denmark, ME Pork Hill Farm* Ossipee, NH Red Gables Farm Tamworth, NH Remick Museum & Farm Tamworth, NH Sap Hound Maple Co.* Brownfield, ME Sherman Farm* Conway, NH Snow Brook Farm Eaton, NH Spider Web Gardens Tuftonboro, NH Terra Firma* Acton, ME The Farm at Thompson House* Jackson, NH The Farm by the River Effingham, NH Top of the Hill Farm Wolfeboro, NH Tumbledown Farms* Brookfield, NH Waxing Moon Gardens* No. Sandwich, NH White Gates Farm Tamworth, NH Wotton Farm* Ossipee, NH
A small sample of the many offerings from local farms. Be sure to call ahead for updates.
White Gates Farm in Tamworth is offering curbside pickup of beef, pork, or chicken packages loaded with enough meat to get your family through a month or so. You can also stuff your freezer for a much longer period of time with a much bigger combo package. Simply order and pay online at www.whitegates-farm.com and you will be contacted to arrange a curbside pickup time. All packages come with a dozen eggs!
Sherman Farm in East Conway is offering curbside pickup. Their system is simple: call ahead, or just honk your horn and someone will be out to help you. www.shermanfarmnh.com
Pork Hill Farm is still offering their spring and summer CSA, with three pickup locations each Tuesday throughout the season, in Ossipee, Conway village, and North Conway village. Beginning June 16 this year with the fall share running to October 13, you can easily pull up their website, www.porkhillfarm.com, order and pay online, choose your pick-up location, and wait for the season to begin!
Patch Farm in Denmark, Maine (for those of you on the Fryeburg side of Conway) is planning on keeping their farm store open with a sign on their coolers reading, “For convenience in the time of social distancing, all farm veggies and eggs are $5! We have pre-weighed our root vegetables and upped the weight of our greens to reflect the price point.” You are now able to pre-order online and pick it up at the store or the Farmers’ Market. Grab a tasty morsel of their forest-raised pork while you are there! Also offering CSA full and half shares and market shares! www.patchfarm.me
Bridgton Farmers’ Market is practicing good social distancing with their market still operating through spring–just outdoors! Vendors are pre-packing all their goods instead of having everyone dig through bins doing the pick-and-choose, with the majority requiring that you pre-order and pay online for pickup on market day. For order forms, go to www.facebook.com/ BridgtonFarmersMarket.
Tamworth Farmers’ Market is planning on a regularly scheduled opening for summer in mid-May. For more information and a list of vendors, visit www.tamworthfarmersmarket.org.
Greater Gorham Farmers’ Market is scheduled to open for summer on Saturday, May 2. Determined to provide fresh food to the local community, they will be offering hand-sanitizing stations and an option for customers to call ahead with orders, limited handling of merchandise, with all vendors practicing recommended safety implementations and social distancing. www.facebook.com/pg/Greater/Gorham/Farmers/Market.
to keep good food available during the market lull in-between seasons, they are hosting a pop-up market every Wednesday and Saturday beginning March 21, from 1 to 7 p.m. outside in their parking lot! In an effort to support other local farmers and growers, offer supplies to the community in a calm environment, and keep the community safe, there are no vendor fees and no restrooms available. This low-key tailgate-style event will be closely monitored to ensure the gathering is following appropriate social distancing procedures, as well as taking all recommended safety precautions. For more information, check out their website for updates at www.nhmushrooms.com, or to become a vendor, contact nhmcsales@gmail.com.
Collectively we have put so much effort and resolve into retreating for the greater good. We can commit to that further for the greater good of our community.
Why not take a drive to a nice outdoor market? Food is a necessity—you have every right to do so. Make food shopping something you look forward to again. Say hello to your neighbors from a safe distance, pick up some good eats, feel good, and smile while doing it.
Now, more than ever, food is medicine. Food can heal our bodies, food can heal our hearts, and food can heal our community. We can do our best to embrace this period of quiet—becoming more thoughtful, more subtly action-oriented, more open to the world right in front of our eyes. Supporting your local farmers and your local economy is what we need right now. Let the world know you appreciate the passion and hard work of your local farmers—embrace and spread camaraderie among your friends and neighbors!
We can take control in these challenging times. Now, more than ever, food is something we can choose to be more deliberate about.
We are all in this together.
Connect with the people who grow your food!
CSA stands for community support agriculture. This movement started as a way for farms to share the season-long burden of risk with their community. Farms would ask for a commitment from their local community to invest in the farm, which helps farmers’ cashflow with the early season expenses that occur when much has yet to be harvested. Seeds and supplies are bought, and employees are paid long before the first tomato is picked. In return, these community members would get a portion, commonly referred to as a “share,” of the harvest each week throughout the growing season. CSAs have grown and changed over the years to mean many different things, but the basic relationship has stayed the same. As a customer, you provide the farm a payment for future food. Buying direct from a farmer provides them with the best price for their products, reduces your environmental impact by drastically decreasing the miles your food has to travel to get to you, and provides you with food that is SO FRESH! A CSA share is a great way to eat seasonally, try new things, and connect with the people who grow your food.
– Farmer Joanne of Mountain Heartbeet in Effingham, NH
A NEW DAY FARM
Weekly CSA shares are available for pick up on site in Conway and a North Conway location on Thursdays. Cost is $384 for small shares, and $576 for large shares, both running for 16 weeks beginning midJune through September. Fall shares are also available. Sign Up: Contact Jennie at jenniemblair@live.com or (207) 256-2522.
FOOTHILL FARM ALLIANCE WINTER CSA
Several MWV and western Maine farms have joined together as a network of family farms with the first goal of offering a multi-farm winter CSA. With several successful seasons under their belt, the Foothill Farm Alliance offers the opportunity to eat locally during the winter months in Northern New England. For more details on the winter share dates, prices, pickup locations and vegetable prospectus, please visit the website below. Sign Up: Head to foothillfarmalliance.com or email Natalie at hosacfarm@gmail.com.
FLY AWAY FARM
Contact for more details at (207) 446-7352 or flyawayfarmmaine@gmail.com.
HOSAC FARM
MOFGA Certified Organic Summer CSA. Offering two choices: full or summer share. The full share runs for 14 weeks, starting in late June, and the summer share runs for eight weeks, starting the second week of July. Members can expect to receive a box of seasonally appropriate produce each week, such as greens, carrots, beets, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and more. Members also have the opportunity to take surplus produce when available. Pick up at the Earle Family Farm in Conway, NH on Wednesdays from 4–6 p.m., or at Hosac Farm in Cornish, Maine on Thursdays from 4–6 p.m. Full share, $450; summer share, $265. Payment plans available; bitcoin discounts. Sign Up: www.hosacfarm.com/ csa, email hosacfarm@gmail.com, or call Natalie (207) 391-3983.
LITTLE FIELD FARM
CSA pickup is available at Little Field Farm stand in Eaton and International Mountain Equipment (IME) in North Conway Village. You can pick up any time during CSA day, day-of-week to be determined. There are two sizes for the 14-week program: full shares are $500; half shares are $250. Sign Up: Send a message on Facebook or call (603) 733-8535. To hold your spot, half at sign up and the remainder on first pickup day is requested.
NH MUSHROOM COMPANY
From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, for 16 weeks, you are provided with a variety of fresh, local mushrooms. Six to seven varieties of specialty mushrooms are grown on a weekly basis, as well as seasonal varieties and wild-harvested species. Receive a weekly email with recipes, species info, and interesting mushroom tidbits. Pickup times and locations: Wednesdays and Saturdays 9 a.m.–7 p.m. at the Farm in Tamworth, NH, 153 Gardner Hill Road; and at NH Mushrooms Company’s booth at Concord Farmers’ Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. Cost: small share/2lbs, $420; large share/3lbs, $620. Sign Up: email nhmcsales@gmail.com or call (603) 323-0097.
MOUNTAIN HEARTBEET
Nine weeks of fresh, nutritious, Certified Organic vegetables. The CSA barn is set up “market style” with 6-10 items every other week to choose from. Along with all your vegetables, you will get the inside scoop about what’s going on at the farm, new recipes, and space to connect with your neighbors. Pickup location: Mountain Heartbeet Farm in Effingham, NH; Tuesday 5–7 p.m. or Friday from 5–7 p.m. Cost: Shares are priced on a sliding scale. The upper end enables the farm to cover all expenses for growing your food, donations to local food pantries and community events, and allows those with more limited incomes to participate. No matter what you pay, you will get to share in the abundance the farm has to offer. Familysized or individual shares range from $250- $575. Sign Up: www.mountainheartbeet. com/summer-csa-sign-up.html or email mountainheartbeet@gmail.com.
PATCH FARM
For 16 weeks starting in late June, you are provided with a variety of fresh, seasonal, organically raised veggies, as well as an e-newsletter with recipe ideas and tips on preserving the harvest. CSA box share customers have first priority on crops that may not be for sale at market, such as corn, turmeric, and spinach. Pickup times and location: Tuesdays at the Farm in Denmark, ME 3–6 p.m. Cost: full share, $475; or half share, $275. Sign Up: www.patchfarm. me/csa.html, email patchfarm.me@gmail. com, or call (207) 939-1493.
OLD WELLS FARM
Offering a summer-long CSA available for pick up once a week at the farm in Limington or Carter’s Green Market in Gorham, ME. Also offer delivery to immunocompromised or disabled folks, providing the drive is 30 minutes or less from Old Wells Farm. The share costs $450 and runs from June until September. All produce is MOFGA Organic Certified. Sign Up: www.oldwellsfarm.com.
PORK HILL FARM
Offering Certified Organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers for pickup over the course of 17 weeks from mid-June until mid-October; also offer a flower share. CSA members can purchase the entire season or just a part, such as summer. The whole season cost is $500 and the summer share is $325. Pickups are on Tuesdays afternoons at three locations: The Farm in Ossipee, T. Murray Wellness Center in Conway Village, 3–5 p.m., and the Local Grocer in North Conway, 3–5 p.m., or by special arrangement on a different day. Planning to offer subsidized shares, so email for details if you or someone you know would like to do the CSA but needs help. Sign Up: Head to porkhillfarm.com.
REMICK COUNTRY DOCTOR MUSEUM & FARM
Offering a summer meat CSA featuring three pickups (June, July, and August). Each month’s pickup consists of approximately 12 pounds of various cuts of beef, pork, and chicken. Pickups are monthly at the Remick Museum & Farm in Tamworth. Price is $300 for members of the Remick Museum and $400 for non-members. Sign Up: Call (603) 323-7591.
SAP HOUND MAPLE COMPANY
Offering a CSA in which there are four pickups a year, one in each season. You can choose from a pint, quart, half gallon, or gallon option. Read more about the CSA online and find the pickup dates for 2020. Get in contact now for hands-free pickup, June 6, Sep- tember 5, December 5. Pickup time for all days is 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Sign Up: www.saphoundsyrup.com/collections/maple-csa, email corrie@saphoundmaple.com, or call (802) 558-5385.
WAXING MOON GARDENS
Offering the community a naturally grown vegetable garden share with a weekly newsletter sharing stories and favorite recipes for a 16-week season, June 18 to October 1. Community share members get first choice of vegetables. Pickup locations are at Waxing Moon Gardens in North Sandwich, NH Thursdays 3–6 p.m., or Saturdays at the Tamworth Farmers’ Market. Full share, $450 for the season or $120 monthly. Half share, $250 for the season or $75 monthly. Sign Up: Email: Waxingmoongar- dens@gmail.com. Call or text: (603) 547-5494.
DEVYLDER FARM
CSA credit can be used at the farm as credit on your account. Products available include annuals, perennials, produce, mulch, baked goods, PYO blueberries, PYO apples, apple cider, and other seasonal plants and produce. $500 for $550 credit, $750 for $825 credit, $1,000 for $1,100. CSA checks can be mailed to PO Box 475, Wolfeboro, NH 03894 and receipts will be mailed back to members.
GRAND VIEW FARM
The CSA arrangement: for every $100 share you buy, you receive an extra $10 in credit at the farm store. Pick and choose what you want at the Grand View Farm stand next to Leavitt’s Bakery in Conway.
PATCH FARM
Use your farm share debit to buy Patch Farm veggies, eggs, pork, chicken, seedlings, or herbs! Use credit at the Bridgton Farmers’ Market on Saturdays or at Patch Farm stand daily. Cost: pay $100, get $110; pay $200, get $225; pay $300, get $330.
SHERMAN FARM
Sherman Farm’s Farm Futures Program is a farm store credit-style CSA where for every $100-share you buy, you receive an extra $10 in market credit. Your card can be used to buy anything at the market at any time, so you get what you want, when you want it.
SPIDER WEB GARDENS
Customers invest in farm shares in spring and receive a 10% return on investment. (Invest $100 and receive $110 towards purchases.)
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By diverting even a single purchase of your weekly food dollars to a local farm, you help our communities thrive. You support a family business and ensure open space is maintained and cared for by the growers who farm there. Thank you for your commitment to our region’s growers.
BRIDGTON, ME
Summer market is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 8 a.m.–1 p.m., located in the lot behind Reny’s. Summer season runs from the first Saturday in May–October. Offering locally grown produce, farm-raised meats, plants, baked goods, and high-quality handcrafted items to Maine’s Lakes Region residents and its visitors since 1996. Accepting EBT/SNAP, and certain vendors accept WIC and credit/debit. Contact Bridgtonfarmersmarket.me@ gmail.com for more information or find on Facebook.
LOVELL, ME
Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library Farmers’ Market on Route 5 in Lovell, Maine every Saturday, June – September, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and inside on the second and fourth Saturdays, November – May, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Organic vegetables and fruits, delicious pastries and bread, plants, cut flowers, maple syrup, honey, handmade dolls, jewelry, crafts, wreaths, chicken, pork, grass-fed beef, eggs, and more. Also offering online ordering and porch pickup as a safe place to get pre-ordered goodies. www.lovell-farmers-market.square.site
TAMWORTH, NH
Every Saturday from 9 a.m.–1 p.m., May 16–October 31, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Thrift Shop parking lot (30 Tamworth Road). Vegetables, fruit, baked goods, raw dairy, maple syrup and honey, plants and flowers, mushrooms, meat, jams and jellies, kombucha, fresh fish, mead, wool and yarn, crafts, and much more. Live music, lunch and iced tea, coffee and chai, shaded tables and chairs. Double SNAP dollars. (603) 323-2392/2368, tamworthfarmersmarket.org, or email bsfarmerbob@gmail.com or tamworthfarmersmarket@sunnyfield.us.
WAKEFIELD, NH
Wakefield Marketplace; join in celebrating this 25th season at the corner of Route 16 and Wakefield Road. Agriculture and artisans offering farm-fresh produce and products, bakers, juried handmade craft items, jewelry, and original art. Over 30 vendors. Stop by to see the quality and diversity! Saturday’s Memorial Day to Columbus Day, rain or shine 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Route 16 and Wakefield Road (153 sign). Call (603) 918-1021 or visit ww.wakefieldmarketplace.org.
WOLFEBORO, NH
Outdoor season is May 21–October 15, Thursdays, 12:30–4:30 p.m. in Clark Park on South Main Street. Fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, cut flowers, plants, beef, poultry, eggs, and much more. Music and weekly community events. SNAP dollars doubled at the market. Rain or shine. www.wolfeboroareafarmersmarket.com/; Facebook and Instagram: @wolfeboroareafarmersmarket
For additional information, contact the Mt. Washington Valley Eaters and Growers or visit www.mwveg.com. MWVEG is a group of farmers and local food advocates working together to build a vibrant local food system in the greater Mt. Washington Valley.
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A little something while you’re munching on crispy salad greens, or while roasting parsnips–tender, steamy and sweet. Don’t strain your brain–it’s just a game, a test of wit–please don’t quit. If you are stumped, don’t be a chump - just ask your farmer for a hint!
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3 Only available at a certain time of year. 5 Pulpy edible fruit of small size. 6 Method of encouraging self-sustaining ecosystems in agriculture. 9 Weekly produce bundle purchased in advance to support local farming. 13 Helpers for flowers to produce fruit. 14 Vegetables that grow under the ground. 16 Decaying organic matter used to fertilize. 17 Meetingplace to shop for local foods and goods. 18 The edible product of plant growth. 19 Man-made sytem used for watering plants. 22 Plentiful crop yield. 25 From a known nearby place. 26 Meat from an animal raised on grass and foraged plants. 27 Group of people with common interests. 28 Produced without chemicals, pesticides, or antibiotics.
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7 Coming together as a group. Local collaboration of farmers and food advocates. Picked or grown very recently. To support a business by purchasing their products. Working with others toward a common goal. 8 Short, fleshy underground stem bearing buds. 10 Group of food chains helping to enable the survival of a community. 11 An animal allowed to graze in open fields and forest. 12 A person or business selling their product at a farmers’ market.
